Artists who draw work with a variety of media. There are oil paintings, water colors, pastels and others. Some artists use pen and ink, others use chalk, and still others use brushes. Other artists use non-traditional materials and these materials can be virtually anything that an artist deems appropriate.
One of the most common tools used by a painter is the brush. Paint is typically applied to the brush by dipping the brush into the medium and applying it to the selected surface. Using particular strokes, media and different brushes, different textures can be obtained. Traditionally, the brush is a length of material usually wood that is shaped such that it rests comfortably in the artist's hand. At one end of the brush are a plurality of bristles that are used to apply the paint to a surface. The bristles can be made of a natural or synthetic material. Nylon is one type of synthetic material that can be used in a brush. Other synthetic material can include polyesters, polyamides, polyolefins, etc. A natural material can be the hair of any number of mammals. Squirrel and pig bristles are two materials that are commonly used in brushes.
Artists are frequently seeking a variety of means of expressing themselves in a manner that is unique to themselves. One manner of expression is the type of brush stroke that is employed. When painting with a water color one type of brush stroke is typically employed. When oil paints are used another type of brush stroke can be used. Naturally, different variations of each type of stroke can be used to give texture and other features to the painting.
One concern of many painters is the uniqueness of their work. In addition, many artists are concerned that their works can be readily duplicated by third parties who can reproduce many works of art. Color photocopiers and other modern devices are so sophisticated that it has become very difficult for some people including some artists to discern whether a work is the original or a copy. For some types of works of art, mechanical copying is a real problem. This is less of an issue where the artist uses oil paints and similar media that creates a texture on the surface of the canvas or other surface.
When viewing a series of paintings done by an individual artist, a specific style will emerge. This style is specific to this artist, and is unique only to him or her. By analyzing the artist's brush technique, color palettes, etc., one may be able to generate a replica of an artwork. Thus, an artist's unique style is susceptible to imitation which can generate virtually identical copies of the artist's works. However, if the method of painting is completely random and no two works are the same, then the paintings are unable to be imitated. It has been found that there is a desire among some artists to produce a work that is unique to them and very difficult to reproduce effectively. As a result, there is an increasing amount of interest by painters for producing a work that can not be readily copied.
In addition to artists, patrons of the arts are also desirous of a work that is unique. These persons typically pay top amounts for an individual work or a work in a limited edition. The trust that the work is truly an original or that there work is truly a limited edition is fragile and the market for a work can be destroyed if there are unauthorized or even authorized copies of a work in general circulation.
One artist whose work is of particular interest with respect to the present invention is Jackson Pollock (1912-56) an important figure of the Abstract Expressionist movement. During the 1940's he was painting in a completely abstract manner, and the ‘drip and splash’ style for which he is known was developed in 1947. Instead of using the traditional easel he affixed his canvas to the floor or the wall and poured and dripped his paint from a can; instead of using brushes he manipulated it with ‘sticks, trowels or knives’ (to use his own words), sometimes obtaining a heavy impasto by an admixture of ‘sand, broken glass or other foreign matter’. Pollock's name is also associated with the introduction of the All-over style of painting which avoids any points of emphasis or identifiable parts within the whole canvas and therefore abandons the traditional idea of composition in terms of relations among parts. The design of his painting had no relation to the shape or size of the canvas—indeed in the finished work the canvas was sometimes docked or trimmed to suit the image. Using the apparatus of the present invention it is possible to create paintings that may have some of the attributes of this style of painting popularized by Pollock.